5 of Sachin Tendulkar's unluckiest dismissals

Unlucky, unfortunate and ill-fated are words normally attributed to mere mortals, but not to gods. Attaching the same to the god of cricket would be nothing less than blasphemous. For all his gargantuan achievements in cricket, Sachin Tendulkar was not someone who could always ride his luck.

Over the course of his career, he was a victim of dubious umpiring decisions quite often. In hindsight, it is safe to say that his already spotless career could have been even better had a few wrong decisions gone the right way.

In this endeavour, we take a look at five of his most controversial dismissals:

#1 134 vs Australia at Sharjah, 1998

The Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah was a fiercely contested tri-series between India, Australia and New Zealand. With Australia winning all their group matches and ensuring a berth in the final, it was a toss-up between India and New Zealand for the second spot.

Riding on Sachin’s famous 143 in the penultimate match of the series, India went on to face the mighty Aussies in the final.

In the final, Australia batted first and posted a formidable score of 284/7 in 50 overs. In reply, even though India lost Sourav Ganguly early, a partnership between Sachin and Mongia ensured that India stayed on course.

Sachin was once again at his imperious best, cracking boundaries at will all around the park. He compiled useful partnerships with Mohammad Azharuddin and VVS Laxman, before falling victim to a horrendous lbw decision off the bowling of Michael Kasprowicz. He was given out lbw to a ball that had hit him way outside the off stump.

Nevertheless, the platform was already set for a massive Indian win. With Laxman and Kanitkar completing the formalities, India went on to lift the trophy. Incidentally, it was also Sachin’s 25th birthday. A fitting tribute to the champion.

#2 99 vs England, Bristol, 2007

The England-India ODI bilateral series in 2007 was highly anticipated for a number of reasons. Coming into the ODI series, after a historic triumph in the Test series, India were expected to do well. But, the Men in Blue lost the 1st ODI in Southampton quite comprehensively.

In the 2nd ODI at Bristol, India batted first on a belter. They lost Ganguly with the scoreboard reading 113, but Sachin was still at the crease, looking in blistering form, until a horror decision in the 32nd over sent him packing.

Sachin was given out caught behind off a wide delivery from Andrew Flintoff. The delivery was aimed at his body and clipped his elbow on the way to the keeper. But fortunately for India, the dismissal didn’t affect the side too much, with skipper Rahul Dravid taking charge. India scored 329/7 in their stipulated 50 overs. England offered a good fight but managed just 320/8. Skipper Dravid was named the Man of the Match.

#3 0 vs Australia at Adelaide, 1999

The Australia-India series in 1999 was one of the most one-sided series in the 90s. With most of the Indian players playing in Aussie conditions for the first time, even the hardcore Indian fans didn’t expect much from the team.

In the first Test at Adelaide, Australia posted a very healthy 441 in the first innings. Both Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting reached triple figures and in reply, India posted 285, conceding a massive deficit of 156 runs.

The Aussies were expected to score some quick runs in the second innings, but some decent bowling from Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar restricted the hosts 239/8. Needing 396 runs in the last innings for an improbable win, India lost both their openers within two overs. But things were only going to get worse. With the scoreboard reading 27/3, a low bouncer from Glenn McGrath hit Sachin on the shoulder while he was attempting to duck. An appeal was duly made and to Indian fans' dismay, was upheld by the umpire.

Australia scythed through the rest of the line-up quickly, shutting India down for 110. The visitors lost the 2nd and 3rd Tests by huge margins, surrendering the series 3-0 in the process. This series will be remembered for all the wrong reasons by Indian fans, including Agarkar’s five consecutive ducks.

#4 17 vs Pakistan at Perth, 2000

In 1999/00, post the whitewash at the hands of Australia in the Test series, India were in for a major challenge in the ODI tri-series. With a formidable Pakistan team joining the fray, it was never going to be easy. In the first six matches of the competition, India managed a sole win, a hard fought one against Pakistan at Adelaide. The match at Perth was a do-or-die one for the Indians as they bid to keep their finals hopes alive.

Batting first on a lively WACA surface, Pakistan posted a very decent 261/8 in their stipulated 50 overs. Considering the firepower in Pakistan's bowling department, it was always going to be an uphill task for the Indians.

In reply, India lost opener Sourav Ganguly in the 2nd over itself. Sachin looked in good touch, cracking four boundaries. But in the 4th over, a well-directed inswinger from Waqar Younis sped through the gap between Sachin’s bat and pad to the keeper, Moin Khan. An appeal was duly made and Sachin was declared out. The Indians could never really recover from the shock and the rest of the wickets fell like nine-pins. No Indian batsman was willing to show some fight, except Robin Singh, who registered a composed half-century.

With that loss, India’s exit from the tri-series was confirmed. There were no consolation wins in the remaining matches. In total, India lost seven matches out of the eight they played.

#5 0 vs Australia, Brisbane 2003

Sachin was dismissed for 0

In 2003-04, Steve Waugh’s Australia were on a mission, vanquishing each and every Test opposition that came in their way. Even though Ganguly’s India were no pushovers, nothing much was expected of the team in the series.

In the first match at Brisbane, Australia raced off to 268/2, before Zaheer Khan decided to take control. His wily off-cutters and bouncers ensured that the Aussie innings ended at 323. In reply, India lost the wickets of Sehwag and Dravid early. With the score reading 62/2, the Little Master walked out to bat. On the 3rd ball he faced, he was hit on the pads by a rising delivery from Jason Gillespie. Replays clearly showed that the ball was going way above the stumps. But the umpire did not feel the same way and Sachin was declared out.

Luckily, the decision didn’t cost India much, thanks to a superb 144 by Ganguly and a measured 75 by Laxman. India's innings finally closed at 409.

In the second innings, Australia got off to a rollicking start and stormed to 284/3 in 62 overs, setting a target of 199 to win. The match finally ended in a draw with India managing 73/2 in 16 overs.

India won the 2nd Test at Adelaide and Australia were victorious in the Melbourne Test. The spoils were shared in the 4th Test in Sydney, which was incidentally the last one in Steve Waugh’s career.